Book Reviews

Infectious Disease Pearls by Burke A Cunha, editor Book review by Vincent J Felitti, MD

Of the myriad medical books available on the market, only some are truly worth reading--and fewer still are enjoyable. Infectious Disease Pearls falls into the latter small category.

This book presents cases by depicting problems the way clinicians see them--a style of presentation that shows us the author understands the problems clinicians face. We implicitly expect this approach to be helpful, and it is. The cases presented--85 in all--range from common conditions (eg, gonorrhea, pneumonia) to more difficult diagnoses, such as miliary tuberculosis. AIDS and its unusual complications are adequately represented in this collection.

The typical case included in the book is described in a two-page unit: each first page contains information about the clinical presentation and poses a few basic questions; each second page discusses diagnosis and treatment. The presentations are consistently engaging, the discussions are straightforward and practical, and the bibliographic references are helpful. Infectious Disease Pearls is as well written as Louis Weinstein's wonderful old book, Practice of Infectious Disease¹ (a text that is still relevant for learning diagnosis and pathophysiology, although its therapeutic suggestions are dated). The case presentation format of Pearls makes learning easy: Reading one case at a time is an interesting, meaningful way to spend a few minutes preparing to see a patient who might appear in the clinic the next day. This book is a good choice for bedside reading.

Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, 1999 $40. ISBN: 1-56052-203-3

Reference
1. Weinstein L. The practice of infectious disease. New York: Landsberger Medical Books; 1958.

Dr Vincent Felitti has been with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group since its opening in San Diego in the late 1960s.